Male and female pattern baldness

Hair loss is a natural process that does not involve real health risks, but not all people know how to distinguish between harmless hair loss and baldness or shedding that usually indicates a medical problem that requires treatment. Today,  people begin to lose hair much earlier than they did in the past because of their modern lifestyle, so it is much more important to identify abnormalities of normal baldness patterns. When there are no negative effects that accelerate the process, baldness affects about 50% of men up to age 50 and about 25% of women.

 

• The process of male baldness begins over the temple area in most cases, and from there it moves to the upper hairline. Another common pattern of baldness leads to hair loss and baldness forming an M shaped hairline.
• Normal female baldness begins at a later age than that of men, but still, less than 50% of women reach the age of 65 with healthy, abundant hair. Female baldness can be identified by signs such as slower hair growth than in the past, especially thin and fragile hairs and irregular hair loss. It is customary to categorize female baldness by degrees of severity according to a measure called the “Ludwig scale," which ranges from the hair at the center of the scalp becoming thinner, with regular hair grown and no change to the hairline, and the condition of full baldness with no significant change in the hairline.

Significant hair loss or pattern baldness different from these descriptions may indicate a problem that worsens the situation. After many years of research and treatment, those involved in hair health know a number of possible causes of hair loss and early baldness that you should be aware of.

Possible causes of abnormal hair loss

Iron deficiency - When the body is deficient in iron it has difficulty producing enough hemoglobin - the protein that is responsible for transporting oxygen to all parts of the body to enable their activity and normal growth. When insufficient oxygen reaches the cells responsible for hair growth, this process is damaged and the hair becomes weaker - leading to very fragile hair and hair loss.

Taking medicine – shedding caused by medication often occurs 2- 4 months after the start of use. Common drugs that cause hair problems include ibuprofen, blood thinners, antidepressants and birth control pills used by many women.
 
Stress - stress can lead to hair loss of several types, such as "Alopecia areata" and "Telogen effluvium". In such situations, the body's immune system attacks the hair follicles or the stress causes the body to move the hair follicles into "sleep mode" and following these effects, the hair begins to fall out even after a gentle combing.

Excess intake of Vitamin A - vitamin A is an essential component of the body when it comes to maintaining healthy hair, so its excess (high or low) may cause various problems that affect it. When you do not consume enough vitamin A, the body has a hard time repairing damaged hairs or maintaining moisture and scalp health, leading to weak hairs that break easily. On the other hand, a condition of excess vitamin A causes the growth cycle of hair to move too fast in relation to hair growth itself, which means that hair stops growing and sheds long before it’s supposed to do so.
 
Genetics - Just like the color of our eyes, skin, and height, the tendency to go bald stems from the genetic charge that we inherited and contrary to popular belief, the genes responsible for it are found in both men and women. Studies to identify and diagnose the genetic predisposition to baldness have identified a number of suspects, such as the chromosome 20p11, and many experts believe that genetic effects are one of the main causes of baldness.
 
Hormonal changes - Along with genetics and nutrition, our hormones can also be found on the list of factors that affect hair health and are sometimes responsible for shedding and baldness. In principle, the female sex hormone (estrogen) protects the hair from the male sex hormones (testosterone), so once the hormonal balance in the body changes due to menopause, taking pills, pregnancy, and extreme lifestyle changes or similar phenomena, this is reflected in the disruption of the hair cycles and unusual shedding.

Excessive hair care - Although perceived as actions to maintain hair health, excessive combing, over-shampooing, straightening hair and frequent use of industrial care products weaken hair and may lead to abnormal and premature shedding. The reasons for this are that heat, strong pulling and drying hair permanently weaken it while the chemical substances found in hair dyes and similar products affect the activity of hair follicles and damage the scalp.

How can you identify and treat the problem?

As you have seen, hair loss is not child’s play, and it is a phenomenon with many possible causes. Today there are many dubious individuals and companies that claim to identify and treat cases of hair loss and baldness, but you can’t just trust anyone to help you deal with this problem. The only professional who can effectively diagnose and treat all hair and scalp problems is a trichologist, and this is the person to go to with any problem, question, or need in treating shedding and balding.